Holcroft listened to Althene’s last words, stunned at her equilibrium, astonished that it had been so easy. The funeral had been yesterday.
«You do what you must, Noel. A good man died needlessly, foolishly, and that’s the obscenity. But it’s over; there’s nothing either of us can do.»
«There’s something you can do for me.»
«What’s that?»
He told her of Manfredi’s death—as the Swiss believed it had happened. An old man wracked with pain, preferring a quick end to prolonged suffering and infirmity. «The last thing he did as a banker was to meet with me in Geneva.»
Althene was silent for a moment, reflecting on a friend who once meant a great deal to her. «It was like him to fulfill an agreement as important as the one he brought to you. He wouldn’t leave it to others.»
«There was something else; it concerned you. He said you’d understand.» Holcroft held the telephone firmly and spoke as convincingly as he could. He expressed Manfredi’s «concerns» about those who might remember a headstrong woman many believed responsible for the conversion of Heinrich Clausen, and for his decision to betray the Reich. He explained that it was entirely possible that there remained fanatics who might still seek revenge. Manfredi’s old friend Althene Clausen should not risk being a target; she should go away for a while, where no one could find her in the event Clausen’s name surfaced. «Can you understand, mother?»
«Yes,» answered Althene. «Because he said it to me once before, several hundred years ago. On a warm afternoon in Berlin. He said they would look for us then, too. He was right; he’s right now. The world is filled with lunatics.»
«Where will you go?»
«I’m not sure. Take a trip, perhaps. It’s a very good time for it, isn’t it? People are so embarrassingly solicitous about death.»
«I’d rather you went someplace where you were out of sight. Just for a few weeks.»
«It’s easy to be out of sight. I have a certain expertise in that. For two years after we left Berlin, you and I kept moving. Until Pearl Haror, actually. The Bund’s activities were too varied for comfort in those days; it took its orders from the Wilhelmstrasse.»
«I didn’t know that,» said Holcroft, moved.
«There’s a great deal—No matter. Richard put an end to it all. He made us stop running, stop hiding. I’ll let you know where I am.»
«How?»
His mother paused. «Your friend in Curaçao, Mr. Buonoventura. He was positively reverential. I’ll let him know.»
Holcroft smiled. «All right. I’ll call Sam.»
«I never did tell you about those days, did I? Before Richard came into our lives. I really must; you might be interested.»
«I’d be very interested. Manfredi was right. You are incredible.»
«No, dear. Merely a survivor.»
As always, they said rapid goodbyes; they were friends. Noel walked out of the assistant manager’s office. He started across the George V lobby, toward the bar, where his friend was waiting with aperitifs, then decided to take a short detour. He crossed to the huge window to the left of the entrance and peered out between the folds of the red velvet drapes. The green Fiat was still down the street.
Noel continued across the lobby toward the bar. He would spend a quarter of an hour in pleasant conversation with the assistant manager, during which he would impart some very specific, if erroneous, information, and ask a favor or two.
And then there was Helden. If she did not call him by five o’clock, he would telephone her at Gallimard. He had to see her; he wanted a gun.
«Four or five days?» exploded Holcroft into the phone. «I don’t want to wait four or five days. I’ll meet him anywhere! I can’t waste time.»
«He said he wouldn’t be in Paris until then and suggested you go on to Berlin in the meantime. It would only take you a day or so.»
«He knew about Kessler?»
«Perhaps not by name, but he knew about Berlin.»
«Where was he?»
«At the airport in Athens.»
Noel remembered.
He disappeared four days ago in Bahrain. Our operatives are watching for him from Singapore to Athens: British Intelligence would have its confrontation with John Tennyson imminently, if it had not taken place already. «What did he say about the British?»
«He was furious, as I knew he would be. It’s not unlike Johann to write an article that would embarrass the Foreign Office. He was outraged.»
«I trust he won’t. The last thing any of us want is a newspaper story. Can you call him back? Can I call him? He could fly in tonight. I could pick him up at Orly.»
«I’m afraid not. He was catching a plane. There’s only a number in Brussels; it’s where he picks up his messages. It took him nearly two days to get mine.»
«Goddammit!»
«You’re overwrought.»
«I’m in a hurry.»
«Noel …» Helden began haltingly. «I don’t have to work tomorrow. Could we meet? Perhaps go for a drive? I’d like to talk.»
Holcroft was startled. He wanted to see her. «Why wait until tomorrow? Let’s have dinner.»
«I can’t. I have a meeting tonight. I’ll be at your hotel at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. In the afternoon you can fly to Berlin.»
«Are you meeting your friends?»
«Yes.»
«Helden, do something for me. I never thought I’d ask this of anyone, but … I want a gun. I don’t know how to go about getting one, what the laws are.»
«I understand. I’ll bring it. Until morning.»
«See you tomorrow.» Holcroft hung up and looked at his open attaché case on the hotel chair. He could see the cover of the Geneva document. It reminded him of the threat from the men of Wolfsschanze.
Nothing is as it was for you… He knew now how completely true that was.
He had borrowed a gun in Costa Rica. He had killed a man who was about to kill him, and he never wanted to see a gun in his hand again, for as long as he lived. That, too, was changed. Everything was changed, because a man he never knew had cried out to him from the grave.
20
«Do you like mountain trout?» asked Helden, as she handed him the automatic in the front seat of his rented car.
«Trout’s fine,» he said, laughing.
«What’s funny?»
«I don’t know. You hand me a gun, which isn’t the most normal thing for a person to do, and at the same time you ask me what I’d like for lunch.»
«One has nothing to do with the other. I think it might be a good idea if you took your mind off your problems for a few hours.»
«I thought you wanted to talk about them.»
«I do. I also wanted to know you better. When we met the other night, you asked all the questions.»
«Before I asked those questions, you did all the yelling.»
Helden laughed. «I’m sorry about that. It was hectic, wasn’t it?»
«It was crazy. You have a nice laugh. I didn’t know you laughed.»
«I do quite frequently. At least twice a month, regularly as clockwork.»
Holcroft glanced at her. «I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t imagine you find much to laugh at.»
She returned his look; a smile was on her lips. «More than you think, perhaps. And I wasn’t offended. I’m sure you think me rather solemn.»
«Our talk the other night wasn’t designed for a barrel of laughs.»
«No, it wasn’t.» Helden turned, both hands on her knees beneath the pleated white skirt on the seat. There was a gamine quality about her Noel had not noticed before. It was reinforced by her words. «Do you ever think about them?» she asked.